pike care

[madpiker]

when i catch a pike,it`s kept in the water until the unhooking\weighing kit and camaras are ready.it`s then put on the mat,unhooked, weighed and photographed, if need be, and returned to the water in under three minutes.on several occasions,i`ve seen the same pike recaptured with in an hour,proving that it has not been harmed.
on the other hand,i`ve seen so called experienced pikers catch huge fish and have them out for ten minutes or more,recording their moment of glory,often weighing them several times to wring the last ounce out of them.a lot of my photos aren`t magazine quality,but my main objective is to get the fish returned asap.

 

[Giles Hill]

I read somewhere that you should never keep a pike out of water for longer than you would want to be under water.

I agree it's best to leave them in the net, in the water until you're completely ready. Smaller fish can often be unhooked without even netting them / removing them from the water.

 

[Peter Waller]

I seriously believe that three minutes is two minutes too long! Especially in the summer.

 

[jason fisher]

the minimum time possible, i don't take pictures of most of my pike, unless it's something really special, but the camera is always to hand, unhooking tools are by the mat as are scales and sling, the scales get zeroed at the start so if i do weigh one it's straight out of the net into the sling weighed, then put back or if i want a photo it's done on the mat. then back to the water in the sling and nursed/released.
i usually keep a spare set of foreceps and pliers in a pocket to unhook small ones in the water also.

 

[Robert Jones]

Normally I'd say you can unhook, picture and put it back and no harm is done at all.
Potential problems can arise though that may delay this so it's important to keep them in the water if you can in the net or tube.
Also always try to rest the bigger fish when the water is warm before releasing them.

 

[madpiker]

are you seriously expecting us to believe that it`s possible to unhook,weigh,photograph and return a pike within one minute?i`d have to see it done before i believed it.most of my pike are not weighed or photod and are back in the water(sometimes they don`t even leave it)within a minute.as i`ve said before,i`ve witnessed a number of recaptures within an hour,even one within 30 seconds,the pike in question was unhooked,weighed(16lb+)and returned in under 3 minutes,it then picked up a deadbait fished in the margins seconds after it was returned.jason and robert,i totally agree with what you say.i can count the occasions on one hand when i`ve had to nurse a fish before it swam away,the vast majority swim off as soon as they are put in the water.of course,i always hold a fish to make sure it`s ok,if they kick to swim away then i let them go.between 1992 and 1996,those of us that fished the local ex trout res(durleigh,nr bridgwater)witnessed the growth rate of a fish that was first caught at 16.5 lbs,over the next few seasons it came out at 18lbs,20lbs,21lbs and its` top weight of 25lbs 3oz,a good growth rate and obviously well treated when it was caught.

 

[Budgie Burgess]

The obvious answer is for as short a time as possible.I personally weigh or photograph very few pike these days so that minimises on the fuss.I obviously do weigh and photograph some fish though and totaly understand why others would want to.

First thing to ask yourself is do you really need to take a picture and weigh a fish.I wont go into the criteria I use as this will vary from person to person fish to fish etc but just say that it isnt necessary all the time.

Secret to quick return is being organised easy as that.Nearly all of the unaceptabley long trips to the bank Ive seen have come about due to the angler wasting time sorting out his weighing/photographing kit.

Not a great lover of tubes and certainly not sacks but a short while in the landing net aint to bad.Once again being organised will keep the "short time" as short as possible.

There is never in my opinion any excuse for the multiple shots with change of clothing or several people having their pictures taken with the same fish.Nor retaining fish for "brace" shots etc.

As for MP's question of how long does it take.Once when catting a friend and myself were disturbed at the length of time some people were taking with fish on the bank.We decided to actually time ourselves before passing comment.To unhook,weigh and photo a cat took around three minutes.Never timed it with pike but would imagine it to be around the same.Still to long really.

Just a comment on the remarks made by MP on the fish that was caught several times with no ill effect.A gravel pit I used to run had a 24lb pike in it that was caught regularly over a period of three years.I myself caught her three times in a 16 month period.Was always in good nick.Each time I caught it and each time it was caught by others I spoke to it came in like a wet blanket!

As I have mentioned before one water I have acsess to requires me to put all I catch in giant holding pens so they can be transfered.Onnce again as I have said before we quite often have fish which were handled well ,lightly hooked etc turn belly up a few days later.This comming season I plan to record not only the details of their capture but also how they fought.The reason being that Im starting to suspect that post release mortalities may be more linked to how hard the fish has fought rather than the normally suspected reasons.Anyone any thoughts on this?

 

[Peter Waller]

Madpiker. I think that you need to ask yourself a few questions. Namely why do you do what you do?

I have a large friend called Trevor, like you he was going through the three minute plus routine. My comment to him was that he could see that the pike on his hook was an 8 pounder or whatever, so why bother to weigh it? Indeed why bother to lift it out of the water? If the pike is lip hooked why even bother to touch it? Pliars onto the hook, use the weight of the fish and simply roll the hooks out and off the fish swims, untouched my human hand. Oh, hooks are in the gob, silly boy! Fingers under chin, lift head, open mouth, hooks out, let her go. Now, that is a nice fish, into the sling, onto the scales, 27 pounds great, if you must have a photo then friend takes quick snap and back into the water. Scales and camera always to hand, not back in the car or in the bivvy yards away. But unless its exceptional why bother to photograph it? You have a good day, thirty or more pike, what are you going to do with thirty pike pictures? Now Trevor is quick and efficient, has a good routine, doesn't phaff about. He fishes better for it.

Cameras are responsible for numerous fish deaths. I have watched the extended photo shoot, seen fish proudly returned, found similar sized fish belly up a few days later in the nearby reed-bed.

 

[madpiker]

mr waller,i advise you to read my postings again properly and you will see that the vast majority of my pike aren`t photoed and are often unhooked in the water.and i said UNDER three minutes,NOT 3 minutes plus.i think the fact that i have recognised so many pike that i have caught,when they have been recaptured by others etc,proves that im a caring responsible angler.i would imagine that the vast majority of responsible pike anglers take around 2 or 3 minutes maximum to deal with a large pike that they wish to weigh and photograph.if you read the first posting i said "if need be"
my unhooking kit etc is always to hand and i keep the fish in the water while everything is prepared.if you want to nit pick about time,any time a fish is out of the water is too long,after all,they live and breathe under water.i also use strong enough tackle to ensure that the fight is as short as possible and i don`t prolong the fight by having the clutch set too light.i have been pike fishing since 1972 and take exception to your snide comments and hints that i don`t know how to treat pike.
lets face it,every time we hook a pike we put it at risk.i was talking about the maximum time i keep a pike out of the water NOT THE MINIMUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
by the way,i don`t baitfish for pike in the warmer months and i don`t even lure fish for them once the weather gets really warm,ie after the end of june\early july.

 

[jon helyer]

If you think cameras are responsible for numerous fish deaths Peter, then what about the plonkers who use camcorders to video the fight, 20 mins on the bank etc!

Quite a few 'name' anglers use camcorders, or used to, personally I think they should be banned from the banks, or is that one ban too far?

 

[madpiker]

well said jon mate,on every programme on sky you see pike out of the water for longer than mr wallers 60 seconds,matt hayes and mick brown always care for their catches.
did you hear the comments at our meeting on wednesday regarding mr wallers satement on here?i won`t repeat them in case young people are reading the posts!
i noticed that mr waller hasn`t replied since he posted his last ranting against me,perhaps the queue at specsavers is a long one!

 

[madpiker]

i omitted to ask in my last post,does peter waller question mick browns` and matt hayes` attitude too?

 

[jon helyer]

The basic point of fact here is get the fish back in the water as soon as possible, keep it in a tube/sack while you set up the camera, which takes me less than 2 mins depending how level the bank is, don't take more than 4 shots, and in summer with big (10lbs+) pike do it a bit quicker.

If you do all that and are ORGANISED (key word!) then you won't have any problems. Of course, we all have the awkward unhooking problems occasionally, even if you strike straight away, but use bolt croppers and in 95% of cases the fish should be ok.

No videos, no 'bag' shots, unless perhaps you land two fish at the same time, when a snap on the mat is acceptable, no weighing 10 times to get the last ounce out of it, and if necessary, hold the pike in the water (or prop up with a bankstick either side) until it is ready to swim off.

That's all you can do really, unless anybody has any better suggestions, Peter?

 

[Ron 'The Hat' Clay]

There are two coarse species that do not like being kept out of water. One is pike and the other - barbel.

Unless my barbel look like doubles, and unless my pike look like 20s, I don't even bother weighing them these days.

Let 'em go straight away.

 

[Dave Lumb]

"There are two coarse species that do not like being kept out of water. One is pike and the other - barbel."

And all the other coarse species DO like being kept out of the water?

Sorry, couldn't resist!

Shouldn't make any difference what species you are fishing for, they should all be handled as little, and returned as quickly, as possible - even carp.....

 

[Ged]

The picture of me and pike was taken by club sec. He had his camera at the ready, yes pike was weighed as everything was at hand. picture taken to put on club web sight and it was a new water to the club.
I agree with most, get them back in as soon as possible. Big pike are not has hardy as the jacks.

 

[Peter Waller]

Piker, I hadn't replied simply because you decided to start throwing insults.

Re Matt Hayes, like one or two others, I have been known to critiscise Matt's handling, and going for just one more tail walk when doing his programmes. And as for John Wilson, grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Yes, my comments were unfair on you, for that I apologise, but they were aimed at a wider target than yourself.

 

[jon helyer]

I think what Ron was trying to get across is that certain species have higher oxygen requirements, such as pike, barbel, dace and the extremely feeble grayling, whereas other fish such as carp, tench and crucian carp can withstand being out of water for longer. BUT, get them all back ASAP!

Ron, you must have caught a lot of 20lb pike and 10lb barbel not to weigh (or photo) smaller fish? Round here, (Somerset Levels) 20's are rare enough for 15lb fish to be photo worthy!

 

[Dave Lumb]

Jon, I was only trying to inject a little pedantic humour.

But judging from what I have seen of some anglers they seem to think that carp and catfish, in particular, actually prefer being out of the water. And what really gets me going is when they start pouring water over the fish as it lies on the unhooking mat......

 

[Ged]

Does it all boil down to having to have proof?
Memories are no longer good enough!

Some of the best fish I have caught have been when I have been on my own, without camera.
If you want photos etc, It's quicker to take a partner who can get equiptment ready as you play and land the fish and a whitness if anything goes wrong.